COVID Dystopia: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lion

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April was to be the cruelest month. Doctors and nurses hit the brink of exhaustion. All they could do was watch people gasp for breath and die. Ventilators were thought to help but they resulted in even more death.

In this scene I did subtle animation on the lions behind the nurse. I used puppet tools in Adobe After Effects to move a few lion heads. I used the same toll to have the nurse lean forward a bit.

Most of the hand drawn animation in this scene came in moving the lions pacing in a circle. I have not animated many quadrupeds so I looked at reference of peoples African safari videos to study the lion’s walk. It was a challenge but I am pleased with the result.

COVID Dystopia is available to be seen at the Virtual Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival happening now through November 24, 2024. COVID Dystopia can be seen in the Eventive – Chiller Theater Block 2 – Shorts online. It can be seen anywhere in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. After you start watching the films, you have 48 hours to complete watching them. Tickets are $18.

COVID Dystopia: No One Seemed to Mind

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Stockholm Syndrome is a is a psychological response where a victim develops an emotional connection with their abuser or captor.

It seems so many Americans fell in love with the virus, they want to share it with friends and family. Mass infection for them is an act of kindness.

Unfortunately they are doing this with the assumption that repeat infections build immunity. The opposite it true however, COVID is weakening the immune response, not just to COVID but every other pathogen. An entire generation has been encouraged to live lives of constant repeat infections. At first the hope was that vaccines would stop the infections. Vaccines have helped reduce hospitalizations and death, but break though infections are common. Being infected also only offers some immunity for a few months to the variant of the moment. You can be infected by COVID any month of the year, every several months.

A parent who realizes that they have put their children in harms way will resort to the only psychological response that makes sense, which is denial. Denial has been the American marching order since the pandemic began, and the pandemic is not over.

COVID Dystopia is available to be seen at the Virtual Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival happening now through November 24, 2024. COVID Dystopia can be seen in the Eventive – Chiller Theater Block 2 – Shorts online. It can be seen anywhere in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. After you start watching the films, you have 48 hours to complete watching them. Tickets are $18.

Maker Faire Orlando Steals Illustrator’s Work

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I had a rare day off from teaching this Sunday and thought I would head over to the Maker Faire to do a sketch. I have sketched the Maker Faire quite a few times over the years.

I went to the website to see the hours and was shocked to see that one of my illustrations was being used to promote the event. No one had contacted me about using the image and I was certainly not paid for the use in their promotional materials. The image was cropped to remove my “Thor©” symbol.  Back in 2015 when I did this piece I wasn’t watermarking the work that way I do today. I went ahead and added the watermark, signature and AADW logo that I use every day today. I had to go back to the site and replace the image so others do not continue to steal the art. I am surprised that the Maker Faire does not understand the meaning of the copyright symbol. Using the image without the consent of the artist is theft.

Well after visiting the Maker Faire site, I decided I will never be sketching at that event again. Maker Faire does not promote the work of engineers, artists, scientists and crafters, it steals from them. Instead of going to the Florida Fairgrounds I had to spend the day going through old AADW posts to make sure watermarks were added to all Maker Faire posts before more work is stolen.

So I voted against going to the Maker Faire. Instead I decided to sketch at the Maitland Rotary Art Festival. The Oak Hill Drifters are going to be playing on the main stage and I love that group. I also noticed the art event goes late into the night so I might stick around and do several drawings. I should also be a good chance to catch up and see the work of fellow artists.

The Great Comet of 1812 at Theater West End

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Theater West End in Sanford is presenting The Great Comet of 1812.

The core of the story revolves around princes Natasha, who is engaged, falling hopelessly in love with Anatole, a known womanizer who is married.

When friends warn Natasha, she will not listen.

This is a modern pop opera since the music dominates every story line. The cast is large and the relationships intertwined. What I loved most about the production was the boisterous energy, with the cast often moving in among the audience. I tired to capture that energy bu sketching a violinist who was just feet from me on a ramp down to the stage. It seems much of the cast were also musicians.

This is a high energy production and should not be missed. This show runs through December 8, 2024. Be sure to catch it. Tickets run from $33.85 to $40.27. It is a wild time. Theater West End, 115 W 1st St, Sanford, FL 32771.

The Great Comet of 1812

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The Great Comet of 1812 with music and lyrics by David Malloy is built around a 70 page segment of segment from Leo Tolstoy‘s War and Peace.

In the show, princess Natasha, though engaged,  becomes smitten with the young and handsome Analole who is a womanizer.

The musical is set in 1812 Moscow Russia. Theater West End does an amazing job of allowing the large cast to mingle and perform among the audience. The fast paced music is dissonant and often slips into spoke word set to the beat. I found myself swept away and moving to the beat. So many scenes are a profound joyous celebration while others question life itself.

Seated on the upper level of the stage, Pierre Bezukkov glumly overlooked the proceedings. is wife, Helene, played a role in entangling Natasha and Analole. So much is happening that I had difficulty deciding what to include in the sketch. The center stage spins and and often the entire cast is dancing among the audience cafe tables. At one point a purple egg was dropped on my table. I discovered it was filled with rice or stones and made a nice rattle to keep beat with the music. In this was the show is a bit like the Rocky Horror Picture Show set in 1812 Russia.

This show runs through December 8, 2024. Be sure to catch it. Tickets run from $33.85 to $40.27. It is a wild time.

COVID Dystopia: At Lincoln’s Feet

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11,223 Americans died the week I did this sketch.

Funeral homes in New York could not keep up with the number of dead that needed to be buried. Cardboard boxes were propped up between chairs as a way to store the dead in every room.

The former president wanted to be interviewed at the feet of Lincoln by Fox News because appearances are very important. Appearances are always more important than facts. People eat up appearances which often go viral.

This week the former president is pretending to work at McDonald’s at the fry counter for the sake of appearances. We will see if Americans truly buy the false gestures. They seem ready and willing to accept any and all lies as long as it promotes the new normal.

COVID Dystopia will screened at the Orlando Film Festival on November 1 and 7, 2024. It won the Best Animated Film Award.

The screenings were just before and just after the American presidential election. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

COVID Dystopia is available to be seen now at the Virtual Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival happening now through November 24, 2024. COVID Dystopia can be seen in the Eventive – Chiller Theater Block 2 – Shorts online. It can be seen anywhere in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. After you start watching the films, you have 48 hours to complete watching them. Tickets are $18.

COVID Dystopia is an Official Selection at the Pittsburgh Shorts and Script Competition

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COVID Dystopia is an Official Selection at the Pittsburgh Shorts and Script Competition. The festival helps with travel expenses, so I decided to go for one day to attend the Awards Ceremony. This will the the Pennsylvania and West Virginia  Premiere for the film.

My film is being screened online as part of the Chiller Theater 2 Virtual Block. I am actually pleased that COVID Dystopia will be screened virtual since it means the screening will not help spread the virus. I also suspect people could watch the film multiple times to catch all the detail. There are 8 films in the block and COVID Dystopia is the only animated film. Honestly the film works best when surrounded by edgy, hard hitting, live action films.

COVID Dystopia is available to be seen at the Virtual Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival happening now through November 24, 2024. COVID Dystopia can be seen in the Eventive – Chiller Theater Block 2 – Shorts online. It can be seen anywhere in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. After you start watching the films, you have 48 hours to complete watching them. Tickets are $18.

The Pittsburgh Shorts and Script Competition Closing Night Awards Program, is Sunday, November 24th from ⋅7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Harris Theater (809 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA). I have learned that it is worth going to the awards ceremonies, because miracles can happen, and some people are seeing truth in my warped world view.

My plan is to fly into Pittsburgh on the morning of the last day of the festival, Sunday November 24, 2024 to see a few films and attend the Awards Ceremony. I booked a room at the hotel that is hosting the filmmakers and then I fly out late the next day. That will give me a day to just hang out in downtown Pittsburgh and do a few sketches. I do hope it is not too cold. Otherwise I will have to figure out a few indoor venues to sketch.

After the festival, I get a rest since there are no other festivals set up yet. I have 6 festivals who are still judging the film. An I have to search for more festivals that seem like the right fit for COVID Dystopia. The film has an 87% rejection rate but when accepted it tends to garner awards. It is just a hard pill to swallow.

Tech Romance

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While on a long road trip my iPhone would not take a charge. I was using Google Maps to go to a location deep in the Florida back roads, an hour and a half from where I am renting a home.

The red warning blinked on, saying “low battery. I had no idea if my phone would have enough battery to get me to my destination before blinking out and becoming a useless brick. I had an iPad but it was useless since it needed a Wi-Fi connection to show the maps. If the phone died, I would have no maps, and would not be able to call my friend for directions. I have grown so dependent on the pleasant voice of my female navigator. I stopped in a Dollar General parking lot and quickly wrote out the remaining series of directions on the back of a sketch. Sure enough the phone shut down after driving a few more blocks. My pencil notes got me to where I needed to go.

I conducted a virtual art class from what felt like a peaceful country cabin on my iPad. The trip back would involve even more twists and turns but more pencil notes got me home. Actually before going home, I stopped at the Apple Store in Millennia Mall. The place was packed. Clearly everyone’s charging ports had failed at the same time. I sat at the Genius Bar and a tech quickly helped me out. He took the phone out back to find whatever had clogged the port. I had spent hours trying to clear the port myself the night before with a toothpick, but every attempt failed. I kept plugging the phone in, hoping it might miraculously decide to charge.

While I waited for the tech to come back out with my phone, I sketched. It felt good to have this low tech option to record the moment. Pencils never run out of charge and they never crash. The tech brought the iPhone back out and plugged it in. I kept sketching while the phone charged. Thankfully there was no cost for clearing the port.

Back out in the parking lot, I plugged the phone back into the car charger. I turned on Google Maps and set a course. The first thing the pleasant and familiar female voice said was, “Head North to Conroy Road.” Sigh… She understands my every navigation need. She had me at “head”.

COVID Dystopia is an official Selection of the Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival

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COVID Dystopia will be screened in the Virtual Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival between November 14 and November 24, 2024. It will be available to watch in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. It is one of the short films in the 40V – Chiller Theater Block 2 – VIRTUAL -Shorts24. A general admission ticket is $18.

I will be flying into Pittsburgh for the final day of the festival to attend the awards ceremony. You never know. It should be a fun black tie and black N-95 mask affair.

Hopefully I will have time to watch a few films that I haven’t seen at other festivals.

COVID Dystopia: He Shot Us All

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Being unvaccinated is like playing Russian Roulette with just one chamber empty.

With the presidential election fast approaching,  we have a candidate running for president who was responsible for trying to overturn the results of a fair election.

Will we have a free and fair election this time around? Of course not. The only advantage this time around is that he does not have the power of the office behind him.

This scene only had a depth map applied to add dimension. Spinning the chamber would have been far more complicated than it was worth. The shot lasts less than a second which is just enough time to register an impression of what is happening.

COVID Dystopia will screen at the Orlando Film Festival on November 1 and 7, 2024. The November 1 screening is at 4:15pm and the November 7, 2024 screening is at 2pm, both in theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 31 to November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.